THE HARRIERS 



[ORDER : Accipitres. SUBORDER : Falcones. FAMILY : Buteonidce. 



SUBFAMILY: Circince] 



PRELIMINARY CLASSIFIED NOTES 



[F. C. R. JOURDAIK. W. P. PYCRAFT. A. L. THOMSON.] 



MARSH-HARRIER [Circus ceruginosus (Linnaeus). Moor-buzzard, bald- 

 buzzard. French, busard des marais ; German, Rohrweihe ; Italian, falco 

 di padule, falco castagnolo], 



1. Description. The marsh-harrier may be distinguished from its con- 

 geners, at all ages, by its relatively larger beak, and in that the fourth primary 

 is the longest, the third nearly equals the .fifth, while the first and seventh are equal. 

 The male is of an umber-brown above, save the head and nape, which are white, 

 tinged with rufous and striated with dark brown, and the secondaries and tail, 

 which are ash-grey. The under surface is of a creamy buff striated with dark brown, 

 but the abdomen and shank feathers are rufous. Cere and legs yellow. Iris 

 orange. Length 21 in. [533'0 mm.]. The female resembles the male, but has 

 the tail brown, tinged with grey. Cere greenish yellow. Legs yellow. Iris reddish 

 yellow. Length 24 in. [609*0 mm.]. Immature birds present great variation in 

 coloration ; but they may be described as of a uniform chocolate-brown. Later 

 the cream-coloured head is assumed. The tail is never barred, either in immature 

 or adult birds. The downy young is white, [w. P. P.] 



2. Distribution. As a breeding species in the British Isles, this bird is 

 on the verge of extinction. Attempts to breed are made occasionally in the 

 Broad district in Norfolk, but are almost invariably unsuccessful, one or both of 

 the birds being generally shot. Until recently a few pairs were resident in Queen's 

 County and the adjoining parts of King's County and West Meath, but the latest 

 information is that it is much reduced in numbers. Possibly a pair may survive 

 in the bogs of Galway. On the Continent its breeding range extends southward 



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